Audio Bullys’ breakout hit We Don’t Care is back in the picture (Picture: Alistair McVeigh)
The opening scene of Bernardo Bertolucci’s The Dreamers pays homage to Godard’s Bande a Part. At Francophile Tom Dinsdale’s Hackney Downs flat the musician and sometime painter plays me Michael Bibi & Kinahau’s Different Side – which pays homage to Audio Bullys’ breakout hit We Don’t Care.
Great art references what went before – and nostalgia fires our synapses. One of the reasons Saltburn has resonated is the way the film flings you back in time to 2006 with its new rave soundtrack of MGMT, Princess Superstar and of course Tomcraft’s Loneliness.
The time is right then for another delve into the hallowed past – this time Audio Bullys, who are celebrating 20 years of their Ego War album with a show at Camden’s Koko this Friday. Dinsdale tells me about how he’s feeling as we cruise the short distance from Dalston to Hackney Downs in his 1982 VW Golf Mark 1 convertible – some auto nostalgia.
‘Fingers crossed. Still got quite a bit to do before Friday! I’m sure by Friday it will be sold out. Bring it on!’ He’s proud too that his vintage car made 4000 miles round France without breaking down.
In his French-inspired flat, filled with fleamarket bargains and his own paintings, Dinsdale cracks the window with a view down to Hackney Downs Station and makes the tea. He immediately makes me feel welcome in his bohemian space.
With Simon Franks, Audio Bullys were part of the same wave that The Streets surfed. Perhaps you can hear something of them in Sleaford Mods today too.
It’s 20 years since the duo released iconic album Ego War (Picture: Redferns)
‘We were really big in Amsterdam – I lived there for a bit. I remember playing three DJ gigs one New Year’s Eve there. We connected in South America too – Mexico, Argentina.’
2manydjs were sailing on the same sea too. ‘We played with them. Us, them, Erol Alkan. Andrew Weatherall. We were really a part of that. Trash we played at once. Bugged Out.’
It was a golden era for music, as Meet Me In The Bathroom showed – dance and indie melded and it seemed like one big party to those of us who were filling the dancefloors.
Audio Bullys made a meaty, chunky racket that was merciless suburban punk-provocation, but also incredibly catchy and thoughtful.
‘We Don’t Care is so dear to me because it’s the first we came up with. Someone said to me: “You’re going to get a lot of s**t for that but it’s going to make you big.” Ego War is a favourite too. Daisy Chains is cool, Dynamite, they’ve stood up. Struck By The Sound. It’s kind of about our friend Andrew who died. Si and I decided to start a band because of him – it’s a tribute to him. The spirit of him lives on in that.’
They’re marking the milestone with a major gig at London’s Koko (Picture: Redferns)
Dinsdale tells me about his painting, about how he loves Ralph Steadman’s immediacy and shows me his artworks. ‘Si’s very good at graffiti. That’s like our approach to music – less is more, get it done quickly, it doesn’t have to be perfect. I hear about some producers who are perfectionists. With me and Si it’s like “Is that good? Yeah!” When it works we come up with things really quickly.’
The pair have worked with music industry legends over the years. ‘[Madness star] Suggs has become like a real mentor. He and his family are really important to me.
‘He turned up at our studio and we hit it off so quickly. We stayed up all night. We’ve made so much music with him. It was like hanging out though – no one’s got an agenda.’
Where did Dinsdale hear the song sampling their old track? The gym, of course (Picture: Alistair McVeigh)
Dinsdale produced three songs on Jamie T’s album: ‘We’ve done some stuff with Jamie T – he’s like a brother to us. He’s a wonderful, wonderful guy. I love him dearly.’ Dinsdale took his niece to Jamie’s Finsbury Park gigs in the summer – not a bad first gig.
And now Michael Bibi is bringing it full circle, introducing today’s party kids to Audio Bullys’ freeform punk dance with his tech house take on We Don’t Care.
Michael Bibi is from Kingston like Dinsdale. ‘He’s really got to the top of the DJing tree with his Solid Grooves parties,’ Dinsdale says.
I say that you always hear these samples of songs you know from the past in the gym and Dinsdale smiles. ‘I heard it first in the gym too! Gym music, ha!’
Youth is wasted on the young. It’s better the second time round. Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose.
To celebrate 20 Years of Ego War Audio Bullys will be performing at Koko in Camden on Friday 15 December – get your tickets here.
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It was a golden era for music.